USC outlasts Nebraska, 28-20, in homecoming thriller

Needing two wins in their final three games to become bowl eligible, the Trojans got themselves halfway there with a 28-20 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the teams’ first meeting as Big Ten opponents.

All eyes were on redshirt sophomore quarterback Jayden Maiava, making his first start in place of redshirt junior Miller Moss. But in terms of starting strong, Maiava’s couldn’t have been rockier. On just the second drive, an overthrown pass was intercepted and taken 45 yards to the house to put the Huskers on the board first. Adding to the storylines, former Trojan and junior defensive back Ceyair Wright was the defender responsible for the takeaway in what was his own personal homecoming.

Despite the early deficit, head coach Lincoln Riley remained confident in Maiava’s capabilities and made sure he knew that, too.

“He just told me to trust my eyes and go through your reads and continue to execute,” Maiava said. “It was a mistake. I can’t obviously put the ball in jeopardy and cause a turnover.”

Maiava got past the interception quickly as he marched the Trojans down the field in nine plays on the next drive and finished with a six-yard score to sophomore wide receiver Zachariah Branch.

“When we start with the pick-six, sometimes deals like that, especially at home, can take the air out of your sails a little bit,” Riley said. “And the team didn’t even flinch and we responded well.”

Momentum continued with another long drive that culminated in another acrobatic catch from redshirt junior wide receiver Kyron Hudon to give the Trojans their first lead of the game.

Nebraska had its own questions at signal caller, as freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola came into the game with just one touchdown to six interceptions in his last four games. After a pair of punts, Raiola got the offense rolling with a nine-play drive that ended with a 29-yard touchdown pass.

Trouble was not far behind for the Huskers, however, as USC’s senior defensive back Jaylin Smith picked off a Raiola deep throw to halt any momentum and keep the score 14 apiece at halftime.

After a field goal to open the second half, Maiava flexed his arm strength with a 48-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Duce Robinson, who ended the game with a career-high 90 receiving yards.

“When you have an arm like that, of course you can have confidence in it. But I think it also speaks to the work that we put in in the off season,” Robinson said. “He does trust us to just put the ball out there and trust us to go up and get it.”

Yet, the Husker defense refused to mail it in and proved it by strip-sacking Maiava that gave their offense prime position on the Trojan side of the field. But the Trojan defense was unrelenting, forcing the Huskers to settle for a chip-shot field goal to cut the USC lead to 21-20.

“The mentality is to always get a stop,” redshirt senior defensive back Greedy Vance Jr. said. “We went against a good team who got good schemes, so we just have to execute and just make them earn everything.”

The Trojans had an opportunity to widen the lead, but Wright made his presence felt again, this time blocking a field goal attempt from redshirt senior kicker Michael Lantz. A Nebraska punt on the next possession put the Trojans in a familiar position: a close game in the late stages with an opportunity to seal a victory.

But after multiple games of coming up short in late game situations, the Trojans broke through. Eating up more than seven minutes of the fourth quarter on 13 plays, a 43-yard run from Marks set Maiava up to run into the endzone from two yards out for his fourth score of the day. It was this decision making that stood out to Riley.

“He was very trusting of our guys,” Riley said. “And I thought for the majority of the game, he played very decisive, which was key.”

Any hope for an overtime period was snuffed out by a Vance Jr. endzone interception on the last play of the game, punctuating a strong performance by the Trojan defense.

“We’ve been down the stretch a couple of times trying to find a way to win games…and we haven’t been very successful,” Vance Jr. said. “So this win tonight really meant a lot.”

Now back in the win column, the Trojans will travel to the Rose Bowl to face UCLA for Victory Bell rights next Saturday, November 23.